TWENTY eight of the country’s top rugby schools will take part in Paarl Gymnasium’s 20th annual u.16 rugby tournament which will take place from 31 March to 4 April.

Each team will play three rugby matches on 31 March, 2 April and 4 April. The tournament also includes hockey (boys and girls) and netball.

School tournaments traditionally focus on the u.18 level.

The Gym tournament offers younger players a chance to compete against top schools outside their province on an almost provincial level.

Of the 50 players who were included in the SA u.16 High Performance Squad of 2011, 27 came from the schools which took part in the Gym tournament.

Five of the top six FNB Top 20 schools in 2011 participated in the Gym tournament which is: 1. Grey College Bloemfontein, 2. Afrikaans Hoër Seunskool, 4. Boishaai, 5. Monument and 6. Waterkloof.

The wealth of attractions offered by Paarl, the Cape Winelands and the fact that Boishaai’s u.15 tournament takes place at the same time, contributes to the tournament’s growth in size to something similar to other famous School Rugby Festivals up-country.

The tournament is run by volunteers and staff of Gym and former Springbok flyhalf, Louis Koen (Gym’s chief of sport) chairs the organising committee.

The participating teams for 2012 are Gauteng: Afrikaans Hoër Seunskool (Affies), Centurion, EG Jansen, Florida, Garsfontein, Monument, Transvalia, Waterkloof and Kempton Park.

Western Province: Boland Landbou, Brackenfell, Gymnasium, Boishaai, Paul Roos, Stellenberg, Tygerberg and a Paarl Invitation team.

Eastern Province: Framesby and Marlow. South Western Districts: Oudtshoorn, Outeniqua and Punt.

Free State: Grey College. Northern Cape: Diamantveld. North West: Rustenburg. KwaZulu-Natal: Glenwood and Michaelhouse and Namibia: Windhoek Gymnasium.